Method of manufacturing flexible stays



Feb. 13, 1940. J BUX 2,190,469

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING FLEXIBLE STAYS Filed April 21, 1958 INVENTOR: Julzus 13.13111 A TTORNEYS.

Patented Feb. 13, 1940 v PATENT .1 OF I E.

, .f faisonss j METHOD OF MANUFACTURING-FLEXIBLE g smys i Juli'us RBux, MelrosePark, Pa.

Application April .21, 1938, Sa a no." 203318 z oiaiels. (01. 29-148) UNITED; STATES My. invention relates to flexible stays and" the like, such as are used for'mattresses, cushiona;

pads; and upholstery, etc.', and comprises a new and simplified form of stay, and a new method of fabrication. I aim to simplify, expedite, and cheapen'the manufacture of flexible cordfstays without any sacrifice of strength, quality, or good appearance. Other features and advantages of the'invention will appear from the following ex:

planation andfrom the description of species or.

forms of embodiment of the invention, or from the drawing. All the features and combinations shown or described areof my invention, so far as o Cord stays at present in very common use comprise alength of textile cord with an externally shouldered button-head carrier on each encl, and

a snap-head orbutton on each carrier, locked thereto by engagement of its resilient snap means .20 behindthe carrier shoulder(s). Sometimes tufts ratherthan buttons are used. Generally, one button-head is attached to the stay before "it is inserted through a mattress or the like, and the other headis applied afterward. In equipping a length of cord 'with button-headbarriers, the practice vis top'rovide its ends with sleeve-tips of sheet metal ,7 tightly wrapped and gripped around it, like the'metal tips of shoe-laces, and

then to slip over' these tips seamless metal caps having annulargrooves. therein adjacent their '(closed) outer ends, finally securing these caps by crimping their edges inwardbehind those of the sleeve-tips. I 3 I I While theattachment of the button-head carriers to the cord thus produced is generally effective, the method is complicated [and relatively costly, even though" performed entirely by ma:v

chinery.- numberof operationsare involved in making the sheet'metal blanks for the sleeve-tips, and in applyingfclosingfand securing them on the cord, etc. Likewisa'a number'of operations are involved in, making the seamless metal caps, and in. placing and securing these caps on the cord tips. Moreover, I the completed stays are expected to stand a pull "of some 50or 60 lbs. before the button-heads come off and this exacting requirement cannot be metunless all the'mecha nisms involved "inthe various operations'worli perfectly, and are perfectly'coordinated with one another.

In accordance with my invention, I do away with the large number of operations and the re.-

suiting drawbacks by castingcarriers for buttons,

tufts, or the like directly on the stay-ccrdj As 55 here'inaiter described, a series of double carriermembers are cast at suitable intervals along a continuous textile cord, and these castings and the cord are subsequently :cut through, thus proriding cast button-head carriers ,on the ends of.

60 each resulting cord length. In this procedure,

one button-head of each stay maybe formed integral with 'the correspondingdouble carriermember, by casting itas part'of this "carriera member, and the said member-'may also be cast with a shoulder for coactio-n with a snap-button. rv

a simple die-casting operation followed by a very simple further operationproduces a com pleted stay,'with a button on one end and a I shouidered carrier on the other, ready for inin a mattress or the like, and for the subu i sequent application 1 of a snap-button or head i on sa d other end, as usual heretofore. Moreover, 1

the casting of the carriers on the stay-cord assures a very strong and reliable attachment.

The pressure used in die-casting toinject the molten metal into the mold cavity around the stay-cord forces the metal into the external recesses andv interstices amongst the" component threads, yarns, and fibers of, thecord, and this intimacyof contact and grip of the'metal on tha cord fortified by the natural volumetric change of the metal. in cooling andsolidifying. The e fiective strength of the stays thus produced easily equals r passes that of the best stays made i by the "1 ,--Which I have already (fiescribed. a v

In thei'drawing, I i

I is a diagrammatic perspective view illustrating the die-casting of a carrier member on a continuous length of stay-cord. I r I II is a side view (on a larger scale tha I) of a fragmentary length of stay-cord with a series of such carrier members cast thereon,.

one. of. these being shown in longitudinal midsection, and another being shownassociated with less subject to stretching. Round cord is prefere able; or if flat cord is used, it, maybe kept rolled or otherwise compacted into a more or less round form where it passesbetw'een the casting dies I I,

M as shown'in Fig. I. As hereshown, the cord It extends taut "between suitable grippers I2,

621 and l3, l3 atopposite sides of the dies H, l i, above and below the latter. I These grippers l2, l2

l l3 may be. suitably reciprocated and operated to feed the cord l7) lengthwise, intermittent- 1y, while the'dies H, H are separated or open, 0.

This cord M may be'of" v as here shown. Feeding mechanism'of this character is well known. v

Fig. I represents the condition of things when a double member I5 has just been cast on the taut cord I0, and the die-blocks II,. II have been separated preparatory to feeding the cord Ill lengthwise into position for the casting of an-I other such member I5. During each casting operation, of course, the die-blocks II, H are brought together so that the recesses I6, IBin their abutting faces form a mold-cavity for a double member I5; and while they ,areiheld pressed together, molten metal is injected into the mold cavity (under suitable pressure), through a nozzle II whose tapered end engages and fits snugly in a tapered opening formed by semi-circular grooves I 8, I8 in the die .faces. As shown, the die-blocks II, II have suitable tapered dowel-pins and holes 20, 2| to insure accurate registry of the recesses I6, I6 and one of them has an air-vent groove 22 in its face, leading upward from the mold cavity. Provisions for cooling the -die-blocks II, II are here diagrammatically represented by. a water-circulating duct 23 in each of them.

In general, the construction and operation of the casting dies and the associated mechanism may correspond to that used in casting fastening lugs for slide fasteners directly on the fabric tapes which carry them. Such mechanisms are capable of extremely rapid operation, so that 1 castings can be made at a rate of one to several hundred a minute.

Fig. II shows a length of cord III with a series of (three). double members I5 cast thereon, one

"of these appearing in section, the whole constituting a blank for the manufacture of stayjcords such as shown in Fig. III. Each of these members I5 is designed to provide carriers for adjacent ends of two successive stay-lengths of the cord I B, and comprises a right-hand buttoncarrier portion 25 in the form of a sleeve around the cord, and a left-handrportion 2B which as here shown also includes a carrier sleeve 2'I, as well as a button-head 28, constituting in effect an integral extension or enlargement of this sleeve 27. The carrier sleeve portion 25 has a 'letailli11g shoulder 29 on its-end adjacent the other portion 26, here shown as formed by an annular groove at a short interval to the right of thehead portion 28. The retentively shouldered anchorage sleeve portion 25 lies at or extends from the right-hand side of the portion 26, which i in the completedstay becomes the outer sideof its button-head or button 28, Figs. III and IV, while the sleeve portion 21 extends from the op posite side of the button-head. Preferably, the

member I5 is locally weakenedbetweenits portions 25 and 29, as by reducing or annularly groove 38 may be of curved profile at one side, so that after severance the end of carrier 25 will grooving it at 38, to facilitate severing it. The

I9 within it. This cutter 35 may consist of a sharp-edged shearing blade or knife, or may be a sharp-edge revolving disc cutter, or may be of cover) is s'hownat the top sideof the'mattress.

ered with cloth, if desired, assuggested in Fig. IV.

any other suitable character. The support 33 T is shown with a recess 36 behind the edge of the .j cutter 35, to afiord clearanoe-forreceiving the latter'when it cuts through member I5 and cord I9. left of Fig. II may be performed in synchronism and concurrently with the die-casting operation in Fig. I, by feeding the cord I along fromthe dies II, I I to the cutting devices 33, 35, and operating the latter during the pauses of the cord, while'the-"casting is taking place. Fig. III'showsa completed stay such as results fromcutting through any two adjacent members I on the cord IIl. It has the cast-on carrier 21 p with integral button enlargement 28 on its right 0 hand end, and 'thecast-on carrier onitslefthand end, with a shoulder formed by the ann lar 9 7 groove 29 adjacent the outer end of this carrier, which is more or less rounded to facilitate entry into the socket opening of the corresponding snap-button; 37 and engagement with resilient locking means (not shown) Fig. IV shows the stay of Fig. IlI inserted through a mattress. The cast-on metalbutton 28' is shown at the'lower side of the mattress; while the snap button 37 (which may be coveredywi'th cloth to harmonize with the mattress Of course, the cast-on button'28 may also be 'cov- Having thus described myinvention, I claim:

1 A method of fabricating stays for mattresses, cushions, pads, or upholstery, each comprising a length of cord with dissimilarcast-on; parts at its opposite ends, the partat one end of the cord length beinga button and'the partat its other end being a shouldered anchorage sleeve of smaller radial dimension than said button; which method comprises casting around a cord, at. intervals corresponding tolthe desired staycord length, a series of identical unitary mem-v bers each combiningin itself the saiddissimilar parts for the opposite ends of, .a stay cord length; to wit, a button [portion 'and'a sleeve portion of smaller radial dimension than said button per-'- s .tion extending from thefside ofgsaid buttonporf.

tion and shouldered adjacentbut at an interval from the said button portion; and severing ad- 'jacentI identicalv unitaiy mernbers between the I sleeve shoulders and button portions of. said {51) members, also correspondingly severing the cord, whereby a series of. similar stays are. produced.

A blank for the manufacture .of'stay-cords comprising a flexible cord with a series of unitary members cast therearound and thus fixed :55 thereon, at intervals corresponding tostay-cord length, each of said members including a button portion and a. sleeve portion of smaller radial dimension than said "button portion extending from the side of saidbutton portion and shouldered adjacent but at {an interval from said buttonportien also. a sleeve portion of smaller radial dimension. than saidbutton portion ex tending from the side of said. button portion opposite the adjacent shouldered sleeve pOI't'l0I1;{G5

said blank being divisible, by severance of said unitary members and said. cord between'the sleeve shoulders and the button portionsof said members, into stays'eachcomprising a length of cord with a button fixed on oneend thereof and a shouldered sleeve fixedon the other end thereof.

JULIUS R. BUX.

Of course, the severing operation at the 5 

